Hope for Brighter Horizons
by rach981
Summary: Stella and Noctis are sick of fighting and hurting one another. They both hope a brighter horizon will one day shine upon them.


Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy Versus XIII. That right belongs solely to Square Enix.

Warnings: Noctis and Stella may be out-of-character as we know very little of their personalities at this point. Also, this story is probably AU as we only know the basic plot.

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**Hope for Brighter Horizons**

In the darkness of the night, no one other than Noctis' three closest friends had witnessed the fight between the dark prince and the Tenebraen princess, a fight in which neither combatant had wanted to participate. It had taken place on the outskirts of Tenebrae.

"Go," Noctis told his friends. He quickly averted his gaze from the Tenebraen princess lying before him to his friends, shooting them a look they dare not question. He looked back down to Stella. "I'll deal with her."

Noctis waited until he was absolutely certain that none of them could see him before kneeling before Stella on the ground. He sighed as he lightly rubbed away the blood from a gash on her arm with his gloved hand, a gash he had been forced to give her. He was glad that was the worst physical injury he had given her, for he would never forgive himself if he had to do worse. He healed her with a cure spell. He was by no means an expert in the ways of white magic, but he did know enough to heal himself when he did get hurt.

"Stella…" he murmured. He had knocked her out to end their fight but now he needed to care for her. He scooped her up into his arms, clutching her close to his chest as he teleported inside an empty house he had seen on the way. He did not much care that he was technically breaking and entering; he just cared about Stella. She began to stir in his arms; her consciousness was returning to her.

"I'm sorry," Noctis said quietly to his blonde lover when he was sure she was aware of her surroundings again. He gently set her down on a nearby couch.

Tonight was supposed to be one of the too-few nights that they would meet up without having to worry about being seen, having to fight. However, his friends had followed him, justifying their actions by saying he had been acting odd as of late. _Anyone would act odd in my situation_, Noctis thought bitterly.

"You were just playing the part you have to play, Noct. I highly doubt you planned this," Stella said. She let out a gentle sigh and lifted her hand to caress his face. She smiled upon contact; no matter what, he could always bring her comfort. "Besides, we're together now. It certainly was not how we planned to meet up, but unfortunately a few of our past encounters have started this way too." Stella tried to make light of the situation.

Noctis grabbed her wrist and removed her hand from his face. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Stella, I hate fighting you. I hurt you. I'm tired of hurting you."

Stella instantly frowned. "Noct, neither of us can betray our countries. You're a prince, I'm a princess. As I said, this is just the part we have to play." She momentarily shifted her gaze, knowing how odd her next statement would sound, before returning her violet eyes to his blue ones. "We both know it's nothing personal. We both know that we…"

"Stella." His tone was harsh. "We could both easily be given orders to kill each other." He softened before continuing, "I… I don't know what I'll do if that day comes…" He grabbed one of her hands, tightly wrapping her fingers within his.

Stella had no response and she averted her eyes from his again, focusing on her lap instead. Of course, she too had thought about being given such an order. She hated this. Why did she have to fight him? What unlucky star were they born under? Her eyes were starting to feel warm; she knew tears would soon follow. She reached for him and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. Her head found a place on his shoulder and she silently cried. She was torn between her love for him and her loyalty to her country.

Noctis wished he knew the words to comfort her, but he could not find them. He gently ran a hand up and down her back as she cried. Then he ran his fingers through her soft hair. She leaned against him as her tears subsided, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her, neither able to speak.

She sat up eventually and looked into his sad blue eyes. "Noct, please just know that I love you no matter what happens, okay?" She said this softly before she leaned in for a kiss. When they parted, they rested their foreheads together.

"Stella, I love you too. More than you'll ever know," Noctis whispered closing his eyes.

They both hoped brighter horizons would soon shine upon them.

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**Author's note: **I am still very new to writing fanfiction. Please leave a review telling me how to improve. Thanks for reading!


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